Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally devices and methods for supporting and manipulating a patient's leg and foot during surgery (e.g., hip joint surgery) or diagnostic procedure. More specifically, this invention relates to devices and methods for manipulating and applying fraction to a patient's leg during surgery or diagnostic procedure.
Background of the Invention
During surgery on a patient's leg (e.g., hip or knee surgery), certain positions and orientations of the leg may be preferred by the surgeon. For example, during one phase of hip surgery, the surgeon may want to place the patient's leg in tension (i.e., traction), whereas in another phase of hip surgery, the surgeon may want to rotate the patient's leg about a certain axis while maintaining traction. Moreover, in some cases, the surgeon may want to maintain traction or a particular rotational orientation of the patient's leg while adjusting the other.
Some conventional leg and foot supporting devices enable fraction to be applied to the patient's leg, but provide limited, if any, ability to simultaneously rotate the patient's leg about one or more axes. Other conventional leg and foot supporting devices enable rotation of the patient's leg about one or more axes, but do not provide the ability to independently control and adjust the rotation of the patient's leg about different axes. Still other conventional leg and foot supporting devices enable traction and rotation of the patient's leg about an axis simultaneously, but do not allow adjustment of one while maintaining the other.
During a surgery or diagnostic procedure on a patient's leg, the patent's opposite leg (i.e., the leg that is not being operated on or diagnosed) is typically held in place by an elongate support stand placed on the operating room floor. However, once the opposite leg is held in position by the stand, the patient is not able to be easily moved about the operating room without moving the stand along with the patient, thereby increasing the logistical complications in moving the patient's position during the procedure.
Accordingly, there remains a need in the art for devices and methods that provide a surgeon or other medical professional the flexibility to independently translate and orient a patient's legs and feet during surgery relative to multiple axes. Such devices and methods would be particularly well-received if they were configured for relatively simple use by the surgeon or other medical professional.